H1B Visa 2014 Quota Cap Reached – USCIS Official News Update

Well, folks, we have a breaking news update from USCIS saying that H1B Visa Cap for Fiscal year 2014 has been reached. The human psychology has kicked in and many employers rushed to get their H1B petitions ahead of their schedule due to the press release by USCIS indicating that it expects more petitions. Here is a summary of the news release by USCIS on the cap completion for FY 2014.

News Summary by USCIS on H1B 2014 Cap Completion :

USCIS has received enough number of H1B petitions for fiscal year 2014 under regular quota, which is 65,000 petitions.

USCIS also have received enough number of petitions for masters quota cap, which is 20,000.

USCIS will not accept any petitions for H1B Visa 2014 after today, which is April 5th, 2014.

USCIS will conduct lottery or Random computer selection to pick the cap subject petitions filed for FY 2014. The lottery system will be exactly like we described earlier in our blog. Read H1B Visa 2014 Lottery Process – Step by Step.

USCIS will conduct lottery for Advanced quota petitions and pick 20,000 petitions from that pool

For all the masters quota petitions that are not selected in lottery will be placed into general quota pool

A lottery will be conducted on the combined pool of petitions to pick the 65,000 petitions that are eligible for the FY 2014.

USCIS is not providing an exact number to us today as they are still processing petitions received for FY 2014 that were received today.

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I gt RFE on May 28th and they had send me two Queries ( Query 1 ) and Query 4 ( speciality occupation). The GI team has asked me to resubmit all documents, I am not sure why they are asking to resubmit all documents. Is it something I should worry ? really tensed.

Hi, I applied Visa in last years quota and stamped visa. I am working in one of the MNC in India. Is it possible to transfer the visa to my currently working company. If we do so, Is it required to go for stamping again? Is it advisable to transfer my visa to current working company?

Dear Friend, Don’t be jealous of hardworking and sincere foreign engineers. we need them keep our hi tech sector competitive. If we had enough of these skills we wouldn’t have to look outside. Try to understand the big picture before commenting.

You are the one that disgust me with your ignorance, do you know there is not suck a thing as an American? Actually there was a long time ago before they got exterminated by yours ancestors (in case you don’t get it i’m talking about the native americans). You are not American, you are the son of immigrants and refugees, so cut this crap.

Hi, if it is approved but if the company is not providing the form details, only thing he needs is a copy of 797. If employer is not ready to give it, it can be obtained from uscis by paying 500+ dollars. There is a form number but i forgot the number. It will take 20-25 days to get it. I did the same and got it in few days. Then filed under cap exemption from employer B.

I am in UK at the moment want to apply for H1b VISA, i want to apply as maths teacher. As i MSc Maths from Pakistan and student at the moment in UK. I have visa till 2015 but my college is suspended. i don’t want to miss this chance. Can you please suggest in this matter. can i be successful ?

hi Saurab, 1.First consultancy filling for free. 2. Second consultancy asking for 3000$ initially which will be refunded later

Q1. Is it legal to file to file multiple petitions with different employers as of now? Q1a.What about multiple petitions with Same employers??? Is it legal, if yes,, which one???? Q2. If yes, will it increase my chances of getting selected in lottery system? Q3. Will I face any difficulty while visa stamping? Q4. If both selected, can the consulate reject my stamping because finally i will be working with one company and other will be at loss? Q5. Do I need to inform both the employer about this to about any problems in future? Q6. If both selected, can I select the employer to work with and how? h1b

We applied for COS L1-H1 along with L2-H4 for my dependent as our L1 & L2 + I94 expiring on 05 Oct 2013. Good news is that H1 got approved with COS ; but L2-H4 case is still in IR state since 10-Jul. 1. How long it will take L2-H4 approval done. 2. Is any possibility that L2-H4 get denied even though L1-H1 approved. 3. Are the dependent cases not linked to primary applicant. 4. Do we need to apply for L2 extension if no update on COS L2-H4 till 01-Oct. 5. Do we need to apply for L1 extension as well or its just L2 extension.

My employer applied for H1B visa (fiscal year 2014) , out of all others only two of us have not received any information about our status till date. We haven’t received our rejected packages back nor have received any status information. I think the applications were rejected and i have almost no hopes left for this year. I am not sure if the concept of Wait-listed candidates really exists. Lets see what happens.

I am looking for one or more people to help me write a detailed article on the new stamping process and experience (especially in India). I was planning to do it myself but work and an upcoming baby is keeping me occupied w/ other things.

If anyone is interested in writing that article, it will be very much appreciated. Please respond to this thread if you are interested.

News Alert!!! The amendment to strengthen border security has passed Senate in a 67-27 vote. It will help in getting more Republican support in both Senate and House. Final vote on the immigration bill still needs to happen.

Finally after a longg wait, got my rejection letter back.. Mine was not picked up in lottery, so now all set to have an amazing in India with family… Guys, if it didnt hapen this time, dont lose hope. Simply enjoyy the time, next year will be our time..:) All d best folks

My Employer has file H1B for me in April, 2013. Till date i have not received any news whether it’s selected or rejected. My Employer is saying that they didn’t received any update for the same. I don’t have any evidence whether they have file or not? how can I come to know about my Visa Status? Please help Me…

Hi BS, Ask your employer to provide you Fedex receipt/tracking number, of your application. or I-797 C, Notice of Action or ask him to call USCIS for the update, since its over 30 days already. Your employer/attorney can get the information from USCIS. Good luck.

Hi, Can someone let me know how long will it take to proceed to the next stage from initial review. My employer said my application was selected in lottery on May 08th & gave me the receipt number since then it is in initial review status. I am in regular process/regular quota

2 reasons mainly. 1- Something is wrong with employees document (Degree/ marksheets/client letter/client-vendor letter etc/applied under worng category) 2- Something is wrong from employers end (no sign/forgot to attach document such as check/something wrong with his tax id or any other legal document)

My friend was tracking this site last year as his H1B git filed and he saw that last year many of the regular processing applications wre getting RFE initially and later on getting apporved but taking almost 6 months in many cases but this year he can see many regular processing application getting responses withing few weeks and most of them getting approved .Do you think this year we won’t be having much delay for our application getting procesed as last year also not as many RFEs as it as issued last year as usics is already getting a lot of critisism becuase of its early statement saying about receiving too many applictions within weeks which resulted lottery to be held this year. I am eagerly waiting for ur response as my petition is filed in this year quota

I am seeing following as a status message when I search on USCIS “At this time USCIS cannot provide you with information for your case. Please contact the NCSC 1 (800) 375-5283 for additional information”.Any thoughts about this issue?

“On June 6, 2013, we mailed a notice requesting additional evidence or information in this case I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. Please follow the instructions on the notice to submit the requested information….”

I filed H1B for my wife , but still no response from USCIS ,her attorney and Employer also did not get any initimation as on today, Is there still any hope like Waitlist or shall we assume its not picked in lottery, 1 more thing check still not cashed.Pls advice

I need some help, currently I am in US on H4 and applied for H1 which got approved today. My H4 visa is valid till July 31st 2013. Here my concerns are 1) I got my H1 approved, so do I need to raise for the H4 extension or not? 2)If yes, then what is the status of the H1 petition? 3) After that how to proceed to continue on H1 from oct? Could you please suggest me the best possible strategy in this scenario. Thanks.

We submited my documents on april 2nd for an H1b visa and still haven’t heard anything from USCIS, is it possible still to get a receipt notice? I mean accepted? do they have to notify you if you passed or not? do I still wait for an answer? I’m going crazy with this…

Your packet will be returned soon. I got to know yesterday that my packet was returned. Receipts for all the setected candidates are sent by May 2nd week.if we haven’t heard any thing after that that means we didn’t made through lottery. Now start working in plan B 🙂 . All the best

My friend has filed H1B in the year 2008 and his petition got approved. he did not attend interview that year and later the company was removed. His case number is EAC0815450376. However he doent have any hard copy of H1B Approval, as his employer is no more 1. Can you please let me know if he can file a CAP-EXEMPT petition with another employer (without Earlier H1B approval hard copy)? If so, how to proceed? Please guide 2. Do we need to pay any fee or so and how it should be filed? 3. Is there any time frame in which the H1B must be filed, I mean can we file CAP-EXEMPT at any given time in an year?

Hi @Patty, if iam not wrong even i read that it got approved stating the quote as”Senate Judiciary Committee approves immigration overhaul” Which says it got approved after 3 long weeks of hearing and will go to debate in the first week of June and gets completed by july 4th long weekend. And another clause in that says that if it gets approved before 1st october 2013 there is a chance of reopen the slot.

Generally, if Petition got approved, the message on the USCIS would be like below. ————————— we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. ———————————-

But, in your case, it is something difference and chances for rejection.

I would like know that who is your employer and How many employees your employer has?

the Main reasons for rejection at this stage would be : 1) if employer is very small and they have employees <50 2) And if the project is "Internal project" and lack of proper documents for project description. 3) if all the mandatory documents were not provided during H1B petition filing.

Hi Saurabh/All, My status is “Post Decision Activity” and it says the following .

“On May XX, 2013, your notice I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER was processed and mailed to the address on record. If you have not received it within 30 days of May 14, 2013, contact customer service at 1-800-375-5283. If you move while your case is pending, please call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.”

I have seen a few here ; who have “approved petition” specifically mentioned for them . Does that mean that my petition got denied ?

@h1bneeded if it is denial than it should be posted like this……… On XXX , we mailed you a denial decision notice for this case I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. The notice explains why the denial decision was made and the options that may be available to you. If you have not received this notice within 15 days of XXX, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for further assistance.

During this step the formal decision (approved/denied) is written and the decision notice is mailed and/or emailed to the applicant/petitioner. You can use our current processing time to gauge when you can expect to receive a final decision.

USCIS message itself saying that your petition got approved Your previous message: ———————————- it is showing the below message. we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. ————————————

So, congratulations!!! your petition got approved. Check with your Company who sponsor you H1B and ask them to provide all the H1B related documents. And then apply for Visa Stamping.

Hi Saurabh/All, My wife has applied for H1B in 2014 quota and got selected in lottery, she is on H4 in US. My H1B and her H4 would be expiring mid Nov 2013 and i would be applying for extension around 5/6 months before expiry (June/July 2013). My question is shall i apply for her H4 extension also along with my H1B extension or not as her H1B application processing is already in flight. Your help and insight would really be appreciated, i know there would be many in such situation or have went through one.

Dear Friends, anybody got the approval of H1B petition from VSC (RP/ RQ)? My petition is in “Initial Review” status and showing content as below. ” On April 8, 2013, we received this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or contact our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283. ” Could anybody tell me how long will it take to get the petition approved?

Mahindra Satyam Immigration team sent out spreadsheet to all RM’s with list of candidates who were selected in lottery as of May 3rd. They will again send a monthly report with a new batch of associates selected in lottery on June 3rd.

As of May 3rd according to spreadsheet around 700 people got receipts and still for 600 (approx) people the status is pending (waiting for response from USCIS). I checked with my RM on May 14th and I was not selected in lottery so far.

For Msat ppl,Any one aware what is the process after the H1B Approval? Do the Immi team send the approval document to us? Can a visa stamping can be done from Australia ??? Visa Chances better from India or Australia. Any Ideas on the % of visa chances for the approved application ???

Hi ! Thanks for the update. I belive that the lottery was completed on April 7th itself. How come you(we) did not get the receipt so far ..or how 600 people hasn’t yet so far. May be there is delay from USCIS. Also, they are sending it only to practice heads or higher ups.

Yes lottery was completed on April 7th. Satyam Immigration were receiving receipt numbers for the associates one by one. Satyam Immigration was maintaining a spreadsheet with all those receipt numbers and sending it to all RM’s on monthly basis. So they send one such report on May 3rd. Mine was not in that list and now I lost hope bcoz USCIS announced that they stopped generating receipts and sending rejection notices from May 10th. Our RM will receive one more spreadsheet on June 3rd with list of associates who were luckily selected in between May 3rd to May 10th.

Asked my employer , he told me that I am seleted in the lotter but If I ask recipt number then he is saying they are yet to receive . what does it mean. I am in confustion whether I am selected in lottery or not. any words ?

Hey i am also in same situation. My employer also told me I am seleted in the lottery but recipt number is yet to receive . How come they know we are selected in lottery without knowing the receipt number.Will USCIC send any mail like we are selected and send receipt number later? Please someone clarify..

Lalitha/H1B, You should ask employer how they know about this. They may be having following pointers: – mail from USCIS which will also contain receipt number – encashing of paper check which will have receipt number on the back – confirmation from USCIS helpdesk, which may or may not have provided the receipt number

Hello Saurab/All, I was asked by employer to submit the required documents for H1B and many others. Now after lottery my manager says that I was not selected in the lottery. There were 20 applied but only 2 got selected so far. We suspect whether the employer has FILED OUR PETITIONS to USCIS. When asked, my manager said that he had filed my application but refused to give any reference/receipt number. I called USCIS as well, but they also require receipt number to check the info. I think 2 out of 20 is impossible in lottery. I suspect my employer that he had not even filed my H1B. How to know whether he had FILED my application or not? Please anyone can share their views that would be useful for me.

Lot of people have asked how soon one can appear for stamping. The official language used to be on VFS site, which has since been taken down. Here is another official source that I have located.

In short, one can appear for stamping at most 90 days prior to H-1 start date and can enter at most 10 days prior to H-1 start date.

“Posts are authorized to accept H visa petitions and issue visas to qualified applicants up to 90 days in advance of applicants’ beginning of employment status. Post must inform applicants verbally and in writing that they can only use the visa to apply for admission to the United States starting ten days prior to the beginning of the approved status period. In addition, such visas must be annotated, “Not valid until (ten days prior to the petition validity date.)””